Advice on Bronica 50mm v. 60mm lens for street photography

I have a Bronica ETRSi with a 75mm standard lens and a 40mm

ultrawide-angle lens. Both lenses are the newer PE versions. I'd

like to get a regular wide-angle lens for street photography but

I'm not sure if I want the 50mm or the 60mm. To my mind, the

50mm would be too close to the 40mm, although with less

image distortion. I'm leaning toward the 60mm, since it falls in

the middle range between my 75mm and 40mm and is

equivalent to a 35mm wide-angle lens (which seems to be a

pretty standard street lens with 35mm photographers). Can

anyone give me advice on these lenses?

I shoot with the SQA and like the 50mm better. The 50mm will have less distortion so I would think that would be a better choice. The 60mm might not be wide enough.

On this I think you really have to go with your own feelings; in a poll of Bronica users who know both lenses I guess you'd get a near 50/50 split between 60mm. and 50mm.

 

Personally I would go for the 60mm. which I use on my ETRSi more than any other and if I take the camera out on to the mountains with only one lens that's the one I use. Of course street phot. of which know little might need a wider lens approach.

 

(BTW, I don't think I'd call the 40 'ultra'wide.)

 

Trevor Littlewood.

Unless one of those lenses is a clunker, this question isn't camera-specific. What this question <i>should</i> be, however, is photographer-specific. The answer really depends on how close you like to work on the street and how much of a scene you like to include, not what anyone else likes or uses.<p>

 

<i>35mm wide-angle lens (which seems to be a pretty standard street lens with 35mm photographers). </i><p>

 

I shoot on the street a lot (you can see my web site via clicking on my name), and when I use 35mm on the street with an interchangeable lens camera, I lean toward the 50mm these days. Once again, using what other photographers use may not be a good way to decide what you should use.

The 60mm lens on the 6x4.5 format is actually equivalent to a 40mm lens on a 35mm camera in terms of side-to-side coverage. It is an incredibly flexible all-round lens and the perfect complement to your 40. For me, an ideal lens set for this camera would be 40, 60, 100, and 150.

From the Bronica catalog:

40mm angle of view 82.1deg = 24mm in "35"mm

50mm angle of view 69.7deg = 30mm in "35"mm

60mm angle of view 60.7deg = 36mm in "35"mm

75mm angle of view 49.7deg = 45mm in "35"mm

 

Hope this helps

Frank, manufacturers usually give the angle of view based on the diagonal of the frame. This makes it difficult to compare different formats, because they aren't the same shape. Comparing side-to-side coverage is much more accurate. A 40mm lens on 6x4.5 or 6x6 gives about the same side-to-side coverage as a 26mm lens on 35. Using side-to-side coverage, we find that the ratio of 6x6 or 6x4.5 to 35mm is 3:2, or 2:3, depending on which way you're going. Thus, a 150mm lens on 6x4.5 or 6x6 is equal to a 100mm lens on 35. 35mm compares to 6x7 at a 1:2 ratio, so a 50mm lens on 6x7 is equal in side-to-side coverage to a 25mm lens on 35.

The Tamron/Bronica web site (U.S.) offers MTF graphs that characterize optical quality of its PE lenses. From those graphs and from real world experience I concluded that the PE 50mm is slightly sharper (especially in the center) while maintaining low distortion compared to PE 60mm. I have used PE 50mm myself for over 5 years and enjoyed its stunning sharpness and contrast. It provides the same level of performance as Zeiss CFi 50mm at 1/3 the price! However, for the same amount of money I would opt for an old model Fuji GS645W (or GS645S) with an ultra-sharp 45mm (or 60mm lens) for "street shooting". The real wide angle (not retrofocus) design will likely result in higher resolution and contrast. Actually I'm looking for a used GS645W just for that purpose.

Allowing for the standard YMMV, I would recommend, based on experience with a Mamiya TLR + 65mm lens as well as a 4x5, the 60, as being similar to 35mm in 35, or a 135 in 4x5. It feels slightly wide in use, but not aggressively so. The horizontal angle is pleasing, and the vertical not disconcertingly large. The 50 is, theoretically, similar to a 28-30mm in 35 in side-side angle, but you'll find that there's a surprising amount of vertical space in your pictures (look at the examples in Phil Greenspun's learn section on MF, in square format), even with the rectangular format. If you went the 60 route, you might consider trading in the 75, since it's close in focal length and only adds weight. I was surprised in 4x5 (same film format as the 6x4.5 you're using) by the number of scenes that the 135 worked for that in 35mm I would have reached for the wider lens, due to the need to get adequate vertical coverage.

 

Try renting one and shooting with it for a couple of weeks before making your decision, since in the end it's whether it agrees with your vision, rather than whether it fits the standard notions of 'completeness' that matters.

40pe=24mm in 35mm,50pe=30mm,60pe=33mm,75=45mm.I have the 50,75 and 150pe lenses-the 50pe is great for group shots(weddings etc.)but I think you may find it a little too wide for street photography.As a landscape lens,if you don`t require ultra-wide angle for a given shot,it`s a great picture taker.Overall though,if I were you,I`d go for the 60pe.

Oops!`Made a mistake-the 60pe is equivalent to a 36mm lens in 35mm,not a 33mm one.

I have a 40, 60, 75 and 135.<p>The 60 is the lens I would carry round with me if I only had one.

<p >Sorry to resurrect an older thread people. I have a Bronica ETRS that a good friend gave me along with three lenses the 150mm <em >f</em>3.5 PE, the 75mm <em >f</em>2.8 PE and a 50mm <em >f</em>2.8 MC. I traded an old Nikkormat (and some cash) for a 110mm Macro <em >f</em>4.0 PE.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >I have been broke for some time now sending 120 through this little gem. And here is what I have discovered.</p>

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<p >The 110 Macro lens is all right (not what I am used to when shooting with the Micro Nikkors in 35mm) but I thought I’d carry it around as a general purpose lens, what you guys are referring to as a ‘street lens’. But it is on the heavy and ungainly side and slow and seems to have ‘rewarded’ me with too many out of focus shots in the beginning. Now I got in the habit of carrying a monopod but quite frankly that is a pain in the lower regions.</p>

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<p >My friend mentioned that he liked the Zenzanon 60mm and 50mm <em >f</em>2.8s and told me not to sneeze at the 50mm <em >f</em>2.8 MC for primary carry. Being cash strapped I tried out the 50mm <em >f</em>2.8 MC and was I in for a surprise! Much more convenient to carry, faster, wider and despite being an older MC lens it takes excellent pictures! It has been so much better than anything else I have tried for walking around with the Bronica.</p>

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<p >My buddy brought the 60mm <em >f</em>2.8 PE with him on his last visit and I used it for a few days and although I’m sure those that really like this lens will take issue, I like my 50mm <em >f</em>2.8 MC much better! It’s wider just as fast and its optics seem up to the challenge of the better coated PE lens (did I mention there’s less plastic in the MC lens?)</p>

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<p >The only fault we found with the 50mm <em >f</em>2.8 MC was at extreme close ups on a human and animal faces it distorts the nose a tad which is unflattering, that means something to my friend, however I am not in the habit of shoving a loaded Bronica in peoples faces. (My buddy gets away with it but I’m too shaggy and comfortable looking to pull that off.)</p>

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<p >I actually like the wider field better and even go out with the 50mm MC as my sole companion and am getting a bigger fun factor to the whole thing! (Something that has been missing in my medium format experience since I foolishly let the Norita 66 go!)</p>

<p > <br>

 

<p >(I have a thick hand towel that I fold over and use yellow tape on to give me a makeshift ‘bed’ for resting the camera on a flat surface or placed in the crook of my supported off arm to make a firm rest and eliminate the now hated monopod! Works great in conjunction with my camera strap!)</p>

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<p >Thanks for reading my stuff man!</p>

 

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<p >The Ol’ Hippie</p>